


The Space Between Us

by alphalester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Angst, Boys In Love, Clingy!Phil, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Love Confessions, Low Self Esteem, M/M, Stripper!Dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 10:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12769086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphalester/pseuds/alphalester
Summary: Inspired by the songs 'Circus'  and 'Toxic' by Britney SpearsDan goes out for the night and won't tell Phil where he's going, so Phil and Louise decide to go on a night out to a club. They're a little shocked to see the night's entertainment.





	The Space Between Us

Phil's POV

Dan had been in his room all afternoon, the only time he had left was to spend almost as long in the bathroom or grabbing a slice of toast and a coffee. Its fair to say that I was getting a little annoyed. I mean, I knew that Dan and I weren't a _couple_ and that we weren't glued at the hip or anything.. but I loved spending time with him. He always made me feel so many feelings at once and none of them were negative. I missed him if he was so much as even in another room or didn't want to hang out with me. I know I was co-dependant on him but I couldn't help it. We've been by eachothers sides almost everyday for eight years, the longest we have been apart being two weeks. I had been with him in hospital, we went on all family holidays together and we worked together. 

Oh, I was also hopelessly in love with him.

I think my trouble was that because I was always with him, I often found myself thinking we were actually a couple. The amount of things we actually did together made me delusional, making me feel like we were a couple and Dan just hadn't realised. I was shook out of my reverie from my seat on the couch when Dan emerged wearing incredibly tight jeans that revealed every part of him, which also meant he mustn't be wearing underwear as there were no lines on show. I swallowed visibly and tried to focus, looking up at him to find him wearing a tight fitting black shirt which had been the top three buttons undone and an unzipped leather jacket. He must have been wearing a new aftershave too as the smell was intoxicating. It took a moment for me to remember he wanted me to listen to him. 

"Phil?" he said, clearly getting annoyed at me for ignoring him. I shook my head and swallowed once again before apologising, making it clear I was ready to listen. "I'm off out now, okay? You don't have to wait for me to come home, I don't think I will be back til incredibly late.." Dan looked at his phone and then blushed a little, "so uh, yeah just .. I will see you tomorrow." he went to turn and walk out of the door but I stopped him. "W-where is it that you're going? Can I come? It wont take me long to get read-" I tried but my roommate just looked at me like my words were venomous, his eyes widening almost comically. "Phil for fuck sake, I'm just going out okay? we don't need to go everywhere together you know" he ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "I have to go. See you tomorrow" he said, this time leaving successfully as I sat and curled in on myself on the sofa. His words echoing in my head.

_We don't need to go everywhere together_

Was I suffocating him? Being too clingy? I couldn't help but feel my heart drop down so low it could be mistakes as my intestines. My greatest fear was becoming a reality. Dan wouldn't want me around much longer. I was insufferable. That was when it hit me, he couldn't ever _meet_ anyone with me around. Everyone always assumed we were a couple, so there was no possible way he were gonna get laid or have a relationship with me around. Was that what he wanted? I felt my heart beat rise astronomically as I started to panic, my breathing becoming out of control at the sudden changes I might be faced with. Dan was dressed beautifully tonight, there was no way he wasn't going to be snapped up in seconds of him entering a club. Man or Woman would be stupid to pass him up. Dan obviously assumed he would go home with someone if he wasn't expecting to come home until very late. That or just stay out in the club until morning. 

Once I had calmed down, I realised what I was doing. I was letting my feelings for him get in the way of his happiness and that tore at my insides more than before. I was stopping him from having what he wanted. I quickly phoned Louise before I fell into one of my rare depressive episodes, her answering the phone after only two rings. I relaxed immediately at the sound of her reassuring voice. "Phil, how are you sweetie?" she asked, prompting me to tell her everything that had just happened. Louise already knew about my feelings for Dan, often telling me to take a chance because he felt the same but I always laughed her off. If tonight was anything to go by, Daniel James Howell did _not_ have feelings for me. 

We had decided that we would go out tonight so that I wasn't wallowing in self pity and thinking about Dan whilst eating ice cream and looking through fan theories that he did _in fact_ have feelings for me. Louise had told me that there was a new club open designed to be enjoyable for everyone. They had male and female dancers so that everyone got a bit of _something_ out of going there, if you catch my drift. Louise left Darcy with her dad and brought her stuff all over to mine, deciding it would be more fun to get ready with me whilst Dan was out of the way. 

When Louise arrived, she was holding a bottle of alcohol of some variety and a huge bag containing her make up and outfit choices which made me chuckle. I actually loved helping Louise choose her makeup or her outfit, not having people assume that because i'm a boy that I won't know anything about either of them. Louise showered first, whilst I went through her outfit choices for the evening, deciding on beautiful blue and silver dress with black heels. I put it all ready for her and then went to shower myself as soon as she was out of the bathroom. I took extra care in the shower for some reason, feeling like I needed to wash off my argument with Dan just to feel somewhat normal. When I left the bathroom with just a towel around my waist, I almost forgot Louise was here, she was fully dressed in the outfit I had chosen for her. All that was needed was makeup which I too, needed to help chose. My friend had laid out an outfit on my bed the same as I had done for her. Her going to the bathroom to do her hair whilst I dressed myself. 

I dressed myself in tight black boxers, layered with black ripped jeans, a thin t-shirt and one of my warm woollen jumpers that I never wore on YouTube for the simple fact that they were a little too fancy for work. I dried and straightened my hair, even going as far as to pluck any stray eyebrows that were populating my glabella. I put on one of my fancier smelling aftershaves and my plain black shoes, wanting to not let the side down as I was going with Louise after all. Once I was ready, Louise came back into the room and I helped choose her makeup, drinking from that ominous bottle of alcohol with music on in the background. Soon, we were leaving the house. Slightly buzzed from our pre drinks of that alcohol that seemed to burn my throat that I forgot the name of. 

We arrived at the club, known as _Atmosphere_ which I couldn't help but laugh at originally, although the second I walked through the door all my reservations were gone. It was beautiful here, dark and indeed _atmospheric_. It made a shiver make its way through my spine, a sense of foreboding washing over me. Something was going to happen, I just wished I knew what it was. Louise had suggested we get as close to the stage as possible, ready to watch the dancers who would be dancing tonight. The good thing about Louise was she never expected me to be anything I wasn't, I never actually specified my sexuality but she had realised I was naturally more drawn to men, and once I had told her about my attraction to Dan she made sure to never make me feel like I had to act straight, not straight or anything. She always treated me the same about women as she did about men. That was just one thing that made me love her so much. 

We danced, drank until my inhibitions were substantially lowered and I didn't even think about Dan. Until it was time to watch the dancers. I felt a weird feeling in my chest when I heard Britney Spears sound through the speakers. That was Dan's guilty pleasure. We had often sang Toxic together and he listened to her music when he thought I wasn't home or wasn't listening. The alcohol in my system starting to mix in my tummy, making my emotions more wild and uncontrollable. Part of me wanted to cry, whilst another part of me just wanted to continue dancing with Louise to this music and show the paid dancer how it was done. Except that was just it. As 'Circus' by Britney Spears started playing a tall male appeared on the main stage, moving to the music like he owned it. 

_I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins  
Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break _

The spotlight chose this moment to shine bright on his man, his chestnut hair now on full display along with his black tight outfit which i felt must have been hard to dance in. It took me a second before my brain realised what it was that I was watching. 

Dan

I was watching Dan dance in a nightclub as one of the paid dancers. 

_I'm like a performer, the dancefloor is my stage  
Better be ready, hope ya feel the same _

It was that moment his eyes found me in the crowd, a small smirk now on his face and mischief in his eyes, the light of the spotlight reflecting in them and making them look all more enticing, more _dangerous_. 

_All the eyes on me in the center of the ring  
Just like a circus _

The way Dan was dancing was so different from anything that I actually knew about my best friend. Every movement more sharp, precise and organised. Dirtier and more sexual and I was loving every moment of it. I didn't take my eyes off of the person of my desire for the entire rest of the song. His curls bouncing and his energy so electric that I even ignored everything Louise could've been saying to me. When the song finished, he vanished from the stage and a woman came on instead, doing a similar dance to a song she must have chose but I just wanted Dan back on the stage. 

When the woman finished, she clapped excitedly and revealed it was two minutes to midnight! How has time gone that quickly? Louise grinned at me as I downed my drink. "D'you know what happens at midnight here, Phil?" she asked, I shook my head, getting the impression that I was about to find out. At exactly 00:00 another Britney Spears song came on and my heart stopped altogether. Our Britney Spears song, the one we sing to on the gaming channel. Toxic was playing and Dan was back on the stage. The smirk on his face more prominent as he seeked me out within the crowd, winking before I had chance to realise what was going to happen. 

_Baby, can't you see I'm calling A guy like you should wear a warning It's dangerous I'm falling_

He was full on dancing erotically, knees bent so he were closer to the ground as I realised he was unbuttoning that tight black shirt of his. My heart stopped and I was stuck where I was leaning against the bar. Part of me wanting to leave, not wanting to see Dan exposing himself to so many people. What if people realised he was who he was, Internet personality Daniel Howell? What then? I shook it off as I realised the other part of me was unable to look away. If I wasn't going to be able to get to undress Dan myself, why couldn't I merely watch in a place where he was comfortable doing it for multiple people. 

_Too high Can't come down Losin' my head Spinnin' 'round and 'round Do you feel me now?_

Dan was now discarding his shirt altogether, throwing it behind him as if the material of it poisoned his skin, i so badly wanted to run and grab it. I loved that shirt, I didn't want it to get ruined. Without realising, I found myself and Louise dancing almost as strongly as the boy on the stage. The alcohol and indeed, the _atmosphere_ making my blood rush and my head pound a little with the beat of the song. It was a thrilling experience and not just because the object of my desires was undressing sensually on the stage. I kept watching, to find he was only looking at me, ignoring the catcalls and signals he had been getting from those around the room. It was almost as though he wanted to do this for me, and me alone. 

The thought alone made me feel everything. My trousers getting tighter and my head starting to swim with ideas. Of images of what could happen if only he wanted it. If he wanted me. 

_With the taste of your lips I'm on a ride You're toxic I'm slippin' under With a taste of the poison paradise I'm addicted to you Don't you know that you're toxic?_

Moments later, Dan was unbuttoning those painted on jeans of his and I felt my breath catching in my throat. I don't know why, I had seen him in a towel before, I had seen him in swim shorts before. I had even seen him in his boxers before.. but seeing him _undress_ like that was too much. I knew my entire body was reacting to him, wanting to surge forward and kiss him senseless. Reach out and touch him, kiss and bite at his neck and make people know he was mine. Except he wasnt mine. My heart breaking in that very instant. 

When the performance was over, he grinned before the spotlight went off, giving him probably all of thirty seconds to grab his clothes and run off stage ready for the woman to come on and take her clothes off the same as Dan had. I couldn't help it now, tears falling from my eyes as the thought replayed in my head, the same one that bothered me before I had even left the house with Louise. _We don't need to go everywhere together_. "I'm gonna go home now, Louise" and she merely said she will get a taxi straight home and come see me tomorrow to get any of her stuff, realising that I probably needed time alone before Dan came home. I was very thankful, walking as quick as my wobbly legs would take me. 

Dan probably hated me, I came here and he probably thinks I followed him or tracked him here or something. He might think I can't even be away from him for one night.Walking as best as I could to get home, half an hour of walking later and I finally made it to our house. Making it through the first door, up the four floors and then in our front door before all of my emotions hitting me as I broke down onto my knees. Sobs wracked through me, drowning out any of the buzzing that had been pre existing in my head. I showered and changed into just a pair of pj bottoms, feeling too warm to wear a shirt of any kind. I downed what felt like a swimming pool sized amount of water to make sure I was fully sober for whatever were to transpire when Dan returned. If he returned. 

I went to my bedroom and crawled under the sheets, deciding to ignore the lights and lay in darkness to give me a rest of some kind. I heard the front door open and slam shut and I cringed, hearing the shouted "PHIL?" afterwards and expecting to be told I needed to move out soon after. Maybe that's what I should do? If Dan suggested it I would do it, anything to save our friendship. I felt sick as I heard his footsteps get closer towards my door. I sat up, taking off my glasses before rubbing my eyes and putting the light on. Dan knocked quietly on my door, opening it a crack to reveal a disheveled looking Dan. His hair a total mess and his shirt was buttoned wrong. I cowered, hiding under my duvet more as I was expecting something, anything to happen. 

"Phil, thank fuck you're safe!" Dan ran towards me and held me tight, confusing me a little but enjoying the comfort. I sat up again, properly wrapping my arms around him. He held me so tight I felt like we were going to merge into one being. "Louise told me you were crying when you left. Phil are you okay? Did someone hurt you?" Dan was playing with the hair at the nape of my neck which made me chuckle a little, it tickled. I relaxed completely in his arms, enjoying the closeness I so badly had longed for. Before remembering what was about to happen. I stiffened before answering him. "I'm sorry, I'm okay. I didn't know you worked there.. I wasn't following you I promise, I can have time away from you if you want it I'm so sorry Dan" I pulled away from him completely ready to be scolded like an owner to a dog who behaved badly. My head hung in shame as i waited for the blast that never happened. 

"Phil no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, okay? I was just worried you would hate me when you realised I had started working there. I didn't want you to think less of me" Dan replied, he was using his hands to cup both of my cheeks and there was a very heavy atmosphere. I would _never_ think less of Dan, ever. I loved him. Didn't he know that? Without even thinking I moved forward, closing the distance between us. Our lips slotting together for the very first time. Electricity flowed through me, the kiss soft and powerful all at the same time. I realised that my actions were suddenly very loud and my words went unspoken. I pulled away blushing, "I could never think less of you, Dan. Surely you know that? Do you honestly not know _why_ I am so clingy with you?". I waited for a single heart beat to pass before adding "I love you, Dan". 

Dan just paled completely, his eyes shining so beautifully in the dim light of my bedroom. "I... Phil... I love you too" he whispered, closing the distance once again so our lips were together, in one swift motion, I lifted him so he was now laying on my bed beneath me, our kiss deepening when we realised that this was okay. We were okay. More than okay. Dan loved me. He didn't want to leave me. I heard him gasp a little before he spoke "I will have to give you a private show". 


End file.
